Battery-backed PV systems are increasingly the option of choice for Oahu homeowners.
A growing number of SunPower by Eco Solar customers are installing high efficiency SunPower panels in combination with Tesla Powerwall.
It’s the world’s most efficient solar panel in harmony with the battery system that’s setting the standard for innovation and value.
Seamless home backup
A single Powerwall provides backup of critical circuits like lighting and refrigeration. Two supply enough capacity to back up all circuits in most homes during an emergency.
Seamless backup means never even realizing the power went out. Powerwall instantly takes over when an outage occurs. No need to reset clocks and power devices back up.
Save the grid for a rainy day
Generate and store enough energy to self-power your home almost every minute of the day. Minimal monthly electric bills are achievable even under the new requirements from Hawaiian Electric.
SunPower panels generate 44% more energy per square foot than competing panels, so even with limited roof space you can achieve maximum savings and peace of mind knowing your solar investment is protected by the industry’s best warranty.
What would it be like if Oahu suffered a direct strike from a powerful hurricane? The 2017 Pacific Hurricane Season begins June 1. How many homes might be without power and for how long? What can be done to prepare for and cope with an extended power outage?
How much disruption can hurricanes create in Hawaii?
September 11, 1992. Hurricane Iniki, a Category 4 storm, strikes the island of Kauai.
When Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai in 1992, almost 300 miles of power lines were brought down. A month later, only 20% of customers were reconnected to the grid and full coverage was not restored until three months after Iniki’s landfall.
In 2016 Hurricane Matthew, which only grazed Florida’s Atlantic coast, knocked out electricity for over one million customers. Satellite imagery dramatically demonstrates how large of an area can be left in darkness from a strong hurricane.
How ready are utilities to deal with a massive power outage?
Not very, and it isn’t just a Hawaii problem. Over the last thirty years power outages have increased twentyfold, according to researchers. The two main causes are aging infrastructure and the changing environment.
October 6, 2016. Satellite imagery shows power grid fully operational as Hurricane Matthew approaches.
Electrical infrastructure in the United States is 40-60 years old on average, and rising sea levels have left more critical components within the reach of storm surges and flooding, exacerbating the problem.
At the same time, surging ocean temperatures have lead to an increase in the severity of storms. With warmer water as fuel, wind speeds are now stronger, pushing more cyclones into Category 4 and 5 statuses worldwide.
Weather isn’t the only factor. In March 2016 a significant outage on Oahu was caused by a generation shortfall. Hawaiian Electric staged rolling blackouts until demand dropped to tenable levels.
What can be done to prepare?
Traditionally, homeowners have turned to gas-fired generators for backup power in an emergency, but is this a sustainable option for an outage lasting days or weeks?
October 7, 2016. Hurricane Matthew causes massive power outage affecting more than one million homes. Map of Hawaii is superimposed for scale, demonstrating how large of an area can be knocked offline by a large storm.
Consider that it takes an average of 12-20 gallons of gasoline to run a typical home generator for 24 hours. Will you have enough fuel to last for an extended time? Keep in mind that gas stations will likely be without power also, and rationing might be enforced during an emergency.
A viable and long-term solution is solar power combined with home battery backup. Tesla’s Powerwall in combination with SunPower solar panels can keep you up and running even if the grid is down.
A single Powerwall stores over 13 kWh of energy, enough to power an average two-bedroom home for a day. Adding additional Powerwalls in combination with solar can provide enough energy to endure a protracted outage with minimal impact.
Emergency home battery backup can work on any home, with or without solar, and won’t affect your net metering (NEM) or grid supply status with Hawaiian Electric.
To find out more about this innovative solution, give us a call at 808 744-2274 or contact us here.
On April 9, 2017, Hawaiian Electric announced that 10MW of space has been cleared for new solar energy projects on Oahu under the Customer Grid Supply program (CGS). This space will likely be swallowed up within a few weeks according to industry experts.
Additional capacity was freed up as customers who filed for solar under Net Energy Metering (NEM) agreements but never built their system were purged from the waiting list.
The original CGS program, launched in October 2015, allowed 25 MW of grid space on Oahu. The arrangement allows customers to sell electricity back to HECO and achieve significant savings. That first 25 MW lasted approximately nine months.
Like previous programs for solar, HECO takes applications on a first-come-first-served basis, so if you’re considering solar, or know someone who is, it is imperative that you apply immediately!
We will help you secure your space, but please contact us now!
If you’re on Instagram, please follow us! We’ll be posting shots of recent installs, cool short videos and other behind the scenes looks at what we’re up to.
We welcome you to follow us at sunpower_by_eco_solar or just search for our name within the app.
UPDATE: A big mahalo to our Eco Solar ‘ohana for helping us reach our goal! Over $2,000 was raised to support IHS during our Earth Day fundraising drive.
The Institute for Human Services provides critical support to Oahu families and individuals struggling with homelessness. They need your contributions year-round, so if you missed this opportunity, you can continue to provide support in many ways.
At SunPower by Eco Solar, we believe in sustainability. We care about our environment as well as the people in our community.
Over the years, we’ve been a proud supporter of the Institute for Human Services. IHS is on the front lines every day, helping hundreds of Oahu families and individuals struggling with homelessness transition into stable housing.
To commemorate Earth Day, April 22, 2017, I’m asking our Eco Solar ‘ohana to join me in support of IHS.
For every dollar you donate during the month of April, we will match your contribution, up to a total $1,000.
Any amount, large or small, goes directly to support people in desperate need right here on Oahu.
Thank you, Benjamin Parish Owner – SunPower by Eco Solar
Bronson’s system uses two Powerwall batteries to store energy generated by his solar panels
Ever wonder what it’s like take your home virtually off-grid with solar panels and a home battery system? Air traffic controller Bronson installed 36 SunPower panels and two Tesla Powerwall batteries on his Ewa Beach home in October of 2016. So far, the results have been impressive.
Here’s how it works. Electricity generated by the solar panels takes one of three possible paths, but it always prioritizes like this:
House
Batteries
Grid
On a sunny day, solar power runs the A/C, fridge and everything else. Excess power fills the battery. After the battery fills up, all remaining energy is exported to the grid.
36 SunPower 327W modules maximize solar production on a limited footprint
When the sun goes down, the batteries kick on, supplying steady power to the home through the night. If the batteries become depleted, grid power comes on to bridge the gap until solar starts filling them up again.
Powerwall made it possible for Bronson to go virtually off-grid. With the right combination of solar panels and batteries; dependence on the utility is almost eliminated. Grid power can be thought of as a backup, there only to provide energy during when cloudy weather impacts solar production.
An important benefit of the Powerwall is its ability to provide backup during a power failure. During the planning process, SunPower by Eco Solar helped Bronson identify two critical circuits that automatically switch on when grid power fails.
In January, Bronson’s system produced 120 kWh more energy than he consumed. As summer months come on with longer days and better weather, his ability to offset grid power will go up even further.
An important note about connecting to the grid:
Production, storage and export of energy for the month of January 2017
Bronson’s system was installed under HECO’s Customer Grid Supply (CGS) program, which allows credit for energy he exports. Systems installed under the newer Customer Self Supply (CSS) are not allowed to export; so all energy generated must be consumed or stored.
Systems installed under CGS can potentially be retrofitted with Powerwall in order to achieve greater savings and emergency backup. To find out more, contact us for details.
Why not go completely off grid?
It is theoretically possible in some instances, but it is impractical and cost-prohibitive for average homeowners.
Off-grid means no connection to the grid at all, so you must have enough battery storage to endure many potential days of cloudy weather. You’d also need enough solar panels to fill those batteries.
Bottom line: that’s a lot of costly equipment that takes up a lot of space. If saving money is the goal, going completely off-grid won’t get you there.
Video Testimonial: Bronson M.
“The Tesla batteries were far ahead of the ball game. The efficiency, the longevity, no one even came close.”
As we reported in our last post, Hawaiian Electric’s Customer Grid Supply program was nearing capacity on Oahu. In September, the program was officially closed out.
So what are the options for solar now?
With HECO’s new Customer Self Supply program, you can still:
take advantage of tax incentives
reduce your dependency on grid energy
achieve significant monthly electric savings
Beyond that, Self Supply makes it easier to incorporate innovative technology like battery backup and smart energy management into your home energy portfolio.
Under grid supply, HECO buys the excess power you generate during the day for a set rate. Learn more here
The Customer Grid Supply Program (CGS) from Hawaiian Electric, launched in October 2015 to offer a solar opportunity to homeowners who missed out on the Net Metering program, is drawing to a close.
25 MW of grid capacity was originally allocated, but the most recent update from HECO shows the capacity to be under 5 MW. During a recent 20-day period, over 7% of the remaining space was reserved with new applications!
Sources inside Hawaiian Electric indicate that the pace of new CGS applications is increasing as the limit approaches. We anticipate that the program will expire in late September or early October at the latest.
Bottom line: if someone you know is still waiting to get solar, it is urgent that they reach out now to reserve their grid space!
Dust, salt spray, bird droppings, leaves and other debris on your solar panels can noticeably impact your system’s performance over time.
If you have concerns, talk to us about our Eco Boost solar panel cleaning and maintenance service. We recommend it annually for all systems, but if you’ve had solar for years, it’s time for a checkup!
We’ll clean your solar panels and make sure all your electrical and roof-mounted equipment is in good working condition. When we’re done, we’ll email you a comprehensive report on your system, complete with an itemized checklist indicating any potential performance issues.
Jerry Vares of Hawaii Kai gets an Eco Boost for his system every year. He’s happy about the surge in performance it provides along the peace of mind that comes with knowing his solar investment is being checked regularly by trained technicians.
“It just performs better. If you look at the graphs, it’s producing better than before it was cleaned. So maintenance is really important and the service is awesome!” says Vares.
Eco Boost is available for any residential solar energy system on Oahu. You do not need to be a SunPower by Eco Solar customer to take advantage of the service, but for a limited time we are offering a 50% discount to members of our SunPower by Eco Solar ‘ohana!
To schedule service or get a quote, contact us here or call 808 744-2274.
If you already have solar, upgrading your system to Tesla Powerwall provides clean, reliable emergency backup power, eliminating the need for fuel storage and noisy, fume-producing generators.
If you are installing a new system, the Powerwall enables you to optimize your consumption of solar energy under Hawaiian Electric’s new grid-supply or self-supply program in addition to giving you worry-free backup during a power outage.
On April 9, 2017, Hawaiian Electric announced that 10MW of space has been cleared for new solar energy projects on Oahu under the 
